The Rational Reminder Podcast

Lighting your Money on Fire with Thematic ETFs (EP.185)


Listen Later

As we all know, not all investments are equally exciting, but on today's show, we make the case that you should not put your money into an ETF just because it is trending. A thematic ETF is a fund that offers the opportunity to invest based on a particular theme, such as climate change or artificial intelligence. The concept behind investment themes is that they ostensibly offer investors the opportunity to participate in potentially disruptive trends with the idea of earning excess returns. The problem we find with these ETFs is that as the markets they are based on attract more attention and an influx of entrants, everybody's per-share earnings get reduced. By the time a themed ETF becomes investable, it experiences a mean reversion of prices and media sentiment, in contrast to the attractive returns shown in its backtested index. This means that while thematic ETFs are good business for the ETF providers, they do not create value for investors on average. Toward the end of our show, we invite Wes Gray from Alpha Architect to talk about their change from index to active ETFs and more. Wrapping up, Wes along with Robin Taub join us for a lively round of Talking Sense. Tune in today!

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Rational Reminder PodcastBy Benjamin Felix, Cameron Passmore, and Dan Bortolotti

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

436 ratings


More shows like The Rational Reminder Podcast

View all
Investing Insights by Morningstar

Investing Insights

526 Listeners

Masters in Business by Bloomberg

Masters in Business

2,175 Listeners

Build Wealth Canada Podcast by Kornel Szrejber: Investor

Build Wealth Canada Podcast

14 Listeners

The Meb Faber Show - Better Investing by The Idea Farm

The Meb Faber Show - Better Investing

949 Listeners

Animal Spirits Podcast by The Compound

Animal Spirits Podcast

2,028 Listeners

Bogleheads On Investing Podcast by bogleheads

Bogleheads On Investing Podcast

602 Listeners

The Long View by Morningstar

The Long View

937 Listeners

Sound Investing by Paul Merriman

Sound Investing

347 Listeners

Excess Returns by Excess Returns

Excess Returns

85 Listeners

The Memo by Howard Marks by Oaktree Capital Management

The Memo by Howard Marks

443 Listeners

The Canadian Investor by Braden Dennis & Simon Belanger

The Canadian Investor

84 Listeners

Ask The Compound by The Compound

Ask The Compound

338 Listeners

The Morgan Housel Podcast by Morgan Housel

The Morgan Housel Podcast

993 Listeners

The Loonie Hour by Steve Saretsky

The Loonie Hour

11 Listeners

The Wealthy Barber Podcast by The Wealthy Barber Inc.

The Wealthy Barber Podcast

57 Listeners